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(No Model.)

' C. W. WHEELER.

BUCKLE.

IMQ-340,469. Patented Apr. Z0, 1886.

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" "UNITED STATES f PATENT fortran..

CLARK W. WHEELER, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TOHERIWIANN F. HOEHN AND DANIEL TONER, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

EOIiEiK/ATION forming part o Letters Patent No. 340,469, dated April 20,1886.

Application tiled December 24, 1885. Serial No. 156.602. (Xomodeld Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known thatyl, ACLARK W. WHEELER, of Kenoshmin the county ofKenosha and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Buckles; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specioation.

The objects of my invention are, first, facility in changing andadjusting the trace; second, to relieve the tongue of strain and toprevent thc breakiugof the trace about the buckle-holes, and, third,simplicity' and cheap.

ness in the manufacture of the buckle. These objects I att-ain by abuckle constructed and operatingiu the mannerhereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings like letters desi gnate thefsame parts inthe several figures.

Figure lis a perspective view of my improved buckle, particularlydesigned for use as a trace-buckle, the position of the hametug andtrace being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a vertical section illustrating the method of changingthe trace, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modification.

Although l'or the purposes of illustration I have selected atrace-buckle, my invention is equally applicable to buckles tor manyother uses.

B is t-he section ofthe buckle permanently attached by means of thecross-bar g to the hametug M, from which the side sections are curvedoutwardly or upwardly. It is provided at the rear end with thecross-barb,and near the front end with the cross-bar d, adjacent to theends of which are formed the lugs or projections a a. The sides of saidsection B are upwardly and outwardly turned or curved at or near itsrear end.

A is the remaining section of the buckle, the sides of which areupwardly or outwardly turned or curved at its front end and connected bythe cross bar c, which is provided at the 5o center of its under facewith the tongue or pin f. It is provided at the rear end with thecross-bar e, which rests upon the sides of see-l tion B. Itis alsoprovided with the sideloops, C C, by means of which the buckle isattached to the pad and girth.

When properly placed,the trace passes from the rear underneath thecross-bar b, over the cross-bars d and @,and at the front end of thebuckle underneath the tongue bearing crossbar c, where the tonguefengages with one of 6o the holes in said trace, as seen in Fig. 2. Whenthe trace is drawn taut and the buckle subjected to draft, the section Ais carried back until its curved sides near the front end engage theprojections a a on section B, and thel cross-bar e bears upon, theupwardlycurved sides of said section B near its rear end, therebydrawing the cross-barsc and d at the front end of the buckle and thecross-bars b and e near the rear end thereof toward each other andclamping the trace firmly between them. In this way thegreater the draftupon the trace the tighterit will be gripped between the cross-bars onthe buckle-sections, thus relieving the tonguef of strain and preventingthe tearing or breaking ofthe trace around the buckle-holes.

W'hen it is desired to change or disengage the trace N from the buckle,it is thrust forward until the cross-bar e on section A is '80 broughtclose to the cross-bar d on section B, as shown in Fig. 3. In thisposition a slight cramping or bending of the trace will throw thecrossbar c out from the trace and withdraw the tongueffrom thebuckle-,hole with 85 out pulling said trace from the loop on the hametugM. -Although the tonguef is thus easily withdrawn from the trace N whendesired, the ordinary and natural movements of said trace and theshifting of the buekle-sec 9o tions forward and back upon each otherwill not release the trace. The tongue f may be dispensed with, it'desired, and one ormore of the cross-bars b c d e roughened or providedwith teeth to engage the trace N, and instead of the arrangement of thesections shown in the first three figures of the drawings I may make thesection A to tit within the sides of section B, form the loops C C onsection B, and the lugs or projections a a o n section A roo adjacent tothe ends of the cross-bar e, all to the trace to draw saidcross-barsband cto- 2o though I prefer the construction previouslydescribed.

It is obvious that the size and design of the buckle may be variouslymodified to adapt it to the several purposes for which it may be usedwithout departure from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

I. The combination, iu a buckle, ofthe section A, having its sidesupwardly inclined at one end and provided with cross-bars cand e, and asection, B, having its sides upwardly inclined at the opposite end andprovided with Cross-bars b and d, the curved sides of each of saidsections being arranged to engage with tbe other section, and when draftis applied ward said cross-bars d and e and clamp said trace at dierentpoints between them, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, in a buckle, ot' the scction A, upwardly oroutwardly curved at its 25 front end and provided with cross-bars c ande and depending,r tongue f, and the section B, upwardly or outwardlycurved at its rear end and provided with the cross-bars b and d and thelateral projections aa, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as lnyown I afix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

CLARK W. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL HARKIN, G. GILLETT.

